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BULLETIN 

OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 



DEPARTMENT OF EXTENSION 

1916: No. 48 

Published by the University six times a month and entered as second-class 
matter at the postofflce at Austin, Texas 



AUGUST 25 



1916 



Care and Preservation of Food in the Home 

BY 
JENNIE R. BEAR 

School of Domestic Economy, Tlie University of Texas 




Mont^apr 



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The benefits of education and of 
useful knowledge, generally diffused 
through a community, are essential 
to the preservation of a free govern- 
soerat. 

Sam Houston 



Cultivated mind is the guardian 
genins of democracy. . . . It is 
the only dictator that freemen ac- 
knowledge and tlie only security that 
freemen desire. 

President Mirabeau B. Lamar. 



D. Of D. 
AUG 22 1917 



CARE AND PRESERVATION OF FOOD IN THE HOME 

The health and efficiency of a commnnity are largely de- 
pendent npon its food. It is not only essential that the com- 
munity have an adequate food supply, but that it should be 
a clean and uneontaminated food supply as well. INIuch is 
being- done by federal, state and local authorities to provide 
pure and clean food for the public, but more could be done 
if the woman in the home had a more thorough knowledge of 
the various sources of food contamination, and would co-operate 
with the authorities by refusing to purchase foods from stores 
which do not meet the sanitary requirements. It is also essential 
that the home maker should watch the care of food in her own 
•home. There are many sources of food contamination in the 
home, and most housekeepers are guilty of neglect along these 
lines. Unlike charity, the care and preservation of food should 
begin, not at home, but outside of the home at the various places 
of production and distribution, but the same care and vigilance 
must also prevail in its handling in the home if we are to have 
a clean and wholesome food supply. 

The care and preservation of foods is also an economic ques- 
tion, and is becoming a matter of greater importance as food 
increases in price. If this nation is to successfully feed her 
growing millions, her people must not only learn to produce 
far more per acre, but they must learn to utilize to better ad- 
vantage everything produced. The misuse and waste of foods 
account for the bankruptcy of many firms and many households. 

Micro-organisms — Why Foods Spoil. — There are two main 
causes for the spoiling of foods: First, normally there occur 
in foods, such as fruits,- vegetables, eggs, meats, and seeds of 
all plants, certain processes, called life processes, which cause 
the fruit to ripen, seeds to grow, and meat to soften, and 
which lead to decay. Second, there are present in or on the 
foods certain minute living organisms which feed on them and 
change them so that they cease to be desirable, and may even 
become harmful to us. The gas produced in the can of fruit 
which we say is "working," the mold on various foods, the 



4 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

odors of meat and eggs that are decaying, are familiar to every 
housewife, and are examples of the effect that these microscopic 
organisms called yeasts, molds, and bacteria have on food. 
These organisms grow everywhere, and reproduce rapidly; they 
are as light as the dust, and blow about with it. They alight 
on the surface of furniture, on our faces and hands, on our 
utensils and exposed food. They get into our food and water, 
and, through them, into the body. They may obtain access 
through an abrasion in the skin. Dirty food, water, or clothing 
are dangerous sources of infection, as they may harbor many 
bacteria, which, when once in the body, find an abundance of 
food and, if other conditions are suitable, multiply rapidly. 
Although they are found in the cleanest rooms, they exist in 
far greater numbers in dirty quarters. 

Sometimes Ave intentionally cultivate these tiny organisms by 
providing for them a food that will aid in their growth and 
reproduction, as when we put yeast into dough to , obtain a 
sponge for light bread ; or when we put the Bacillus Bulgaricus 
into milk to obtain our Bulgarian buttermilk; or add bread 
mold to cheese to produce, the Roquefort flavor. Usually, how- 
ever, our problem is to control or get rid of these organisms. 
They not only sour, rot, or putrify our foods, and leave behind 
disagreeable odors and flavors, but certain substances called 
ptomaines which are often poisonous may develop as a result 
of bacterial action. 

In order to cultivate these micro-organisms, or to prevent 
their growth, scientists have studied the conditions ihat favor 
their development. They have found that filth, warmth, mois- 
ure, food, and oxygen encourage their growth, but that clean- 
liness, low temperatures, very high temperatures, certain pre- 
servatives and the removal of moisture will prevent it. 

Cleanliness Essential to a Safe Food Supply. — The first re- 
quisite in the handling, storage and preservation of foods is 
absolute cleanliness. This is to be obtained by the generous use 
of soap, Avater, sunshine, air, whitewash, paint and screens. 

Personal Cleanliness in the Kitclien. — Nowhere should a higher 
standard of personal cleanliness be maintained than in the 
kitchen. Food and fingers are carriers of contagion. If the 



Care and Preservation of Food in the Ho 



me 



necessity for clean hands and the proper method of washing 
the hands were carefully taught and carefully prnctieed, a 
great step would be made toward baeteriologieally clean food. 
The^woman who sneezes or coughs over food, and wh.o tastes 
from the spoon and returns it to the dish being prepared, is 
blind to the fact that the tubercle bacilli, or other disease germ 
from her mouth may, through this means, 'find lodgment in 
her children. The cook who fails to cleanse her hands thor- 
oughly after visiting the toilet may be a source of contagion. 
Again, the hands will touch the clothing; which consequently 
must be clean and free from any soil that could rub otf. Would 
you know what to eat? See who cooks it; watch her work; 
know her state of health. 

People who are apparently healthy are often carriers of 
disease germs. In one of our Eastern towns typhoid fever 
ap^peared in two different parts of the town. The water was 
examined and every effort made to locate the cause. The only 
thing these families had had in common was a cook. On ex- 
amination, the excretions of her body were found to be full 
of typhoid fever germs. This case of ''Typhoid Mary," as she 
IS known to the medical world, should serve as a warning. Ev- 
ery person who handles food should take care that the clothing, 
body, and personal habits are clean. 

Eow to Sweep and Dust.— Dust has been described as a little 
of everything. It certainly can be expected to contain almost 
any kind of micro-organisms, such as the tuberculosis bacilli, 
yeasts, molds, and the bacteria of decay. Dust, after being 
well stirred up, is likely to remain in the air for some time. 
It settles on unprotected food, and in this way is carried into 
the human system. It is not sufficient then to cover dishes or 
a table just before the sweeping. Damp sawdust or bits of 
damp newspaper or oiled sweeping compound may be sprinkled 
over the floor to keep the dust from rising. It is of the highest 
importance to have the floor washed every few days. Dusting 
with a dry cloth or feather duster will stir these organisms 
into the air, therefore such a cloth should never be used, but 
a cloth dampened with water or oil should be used for dusting, 
to the end tliat the dust may be carried from the room rather 



6 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

than thrown into the air. Too much care cannot be taken in 
eliminating dust from every place where food is to be eaten 
or produced. A' vacuum cleaner is desirable, not only as a 
saver of labor, but because it stirs up no dust, and is, therefore, 
much more sanitary than a broom. Many good and inexpen- 
sive ones are on the market. 

How to WasTi Dishes. — Probably not more than ten per cent of 
the women wash dishes correctly. The bacteriologist is likely 
to call the ordinary method of washing dishes a "smear." 
Dishes washed in hot soapy water, rinsed with scalding water 
and wiped with a towel which was boiled since it was last used 
are practically sterile. Poorly washed dishes are the cause 
of disagreeable odors and flavors, and often of disease. In- 
stances are not lacking to prove that colds, lagrippe, typhoid 
fever, measles, and other contagious diseases have often been 
transmitted by one member of a family to others through the 
promiscuous use of unsterilized dishes from the sick room. 
/ How to Wash and Fill the Refrigerator. — The refrigerators, 
especially the cheaper ones, no matter how well cooled, are apt 
to be damp inside. Dampness is one of the requirements for 
bacterial growth; and since some bacteria develop at tempera- 
tures as low as we can hope to keep in the average refrigerator, 
care must be taken to reclpce the dampness to the minimums 
and to cleanse the refrigerator thoroughly at least once a week. 
A plate of unslacked lime placed inside of the refrigerator will 
collect the dampness. As soon as it slakes it should be renewed. 

The weekly cleaning should consist in removing everything 
from the ice box, washing, and with boiling water scalding the 
sides and shelves of the refrigerator. Sapolio will remove stains 
from the enamek The drain pipes should be taken apart and 
well scalded. The refrigerator drain should never flow into the 
kitchen sewer, lest the sewer gas come back into the refrigerator 
and ruin the flavor of the food, 
f Milk and butter should be kept in closed receptacles on the 
lower shelf. All strong-smelling foods should be in tightly 
closed containers. A plate of charcoal will absorb odors, but 
if the refrigerator is properly cared for the charcoal will not 
be needed. 



Care and Preservation of Food in the Home 7 

Washing of Fruits and Nuts.— All fruits which arc exposed to 
the dust and careless handling of the market place should be 
carefully washed before being used. Fruit with a firm skin 
should be washed before being pared. Small fruits may be 
cleansed without an appreciable loss of flavor if washed a few 
at a time. 

Dried figs, raisins, and dates are often eaten without cooking 
or Avashing. How long, and to Avhat filth and contagion they 
have been exposed, it is impossible to know. In how many 
houses are the oranges washed before they are put on the 
breakfast table or before the rind is grated for flavoring? Who 
has not seen the lemon for tea sliced Avithout being washed? 
No matter what the fruit, it should be washed before being 
eaten. 

A little girl who purchased oranges frequently of the dirty 
fruit vender near the school developed a horrible and incur- 
able sore on her mouth. It was found that the fruit vender, 
who had a cancer in his mouth, always spat on his fruit, and 
rubbed it on his pocket handkerchief, or a cloth to brighten it. 
Similar incidents frequently occur. Such facts as these should 
be a warning against the promiscuous buying, serving and 
eating of uncooked foods. 

Cleansing of Vegetables. — It seems scarcely necessary, after 
what has been said of fruits, to speak of the fact that vege- 
tables should be washed thoroughly before being eaten raw, 
and that the cleanliness of the water in which they are washed 
should be beyond qucistion. Typhoid fever, diarrhoea, and 
cholera have again and again been transmitted through the 
water in which the vegetables were Avashed. All too often the 
soil used in the bleaching of celery, that washed into the lettuce 
hearts, or the sand clinging to asparagus or spinach is served 
with the vegetable. Since night soil, containing hook-Avorm eggs, 
typhoid, and other germs is often used by ignorant truck raisers, 
serious consequences may follow. Some houscAvives are so afraid 
of dirt, hoAvever, that upon ' receiving potatoes, turnips and 
beets, they proceed at once to Avash them. This is very unwise, 
as it hastens decay. If the farmers of our land should Avash 
the dirt from their potatoes Avhen they dug them, the potatoes 



8 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

would shrivel and decay long before they could supply us with 
a new crop. 

Hints on Keeping Vegetables, Fruits, and Meats. — ^When the 
market order is delivered, eggs, butter, milk, and meat should, 
after the coverings are removed, be put at once into the re- 
frigerator — eggs, butter, and milk on the bottom shelf, so that 
no possible odors may be absorbed. The meat may be placed 
in the ice chamber; fish should always be placed in the ice 
chamber unless it is placed in a tightly closed enamel pail. 
Green vegetables should be spread out in the store room, or, 
as in the case of spinach, parsley, and such vegetables, sprinkled 
with a little . water to freshen them. Corn, beans, and peas 
should be cooked as soon as possible after buying. 

Eggs. — If eggs are bought in sufficient quantities to be stored 
they should be coated in sbme way to keep out the bacteria 
containing air. One of the best coatings is water-glass. 

WATER-GLASS SOLUTION 

The commercial water-glass solution may be obtained from 
any drug store at a cost of about 20 cents a quart. Mix 11/2 
quarts of this solution with 18 quarts of pure water; water 
that has been boiled is preferable. Stir the mixture until the 
ingredients are thoroughly mixed. A stone jar is the most 
suitable vessel for the mixture. Two eight-gallon jars are suf- 
ficient for 30 dozen eggs, using the amount of solution pre- 
scribed above. After the water-glass is thoroughly mixed, pour 
it into the different vessels to be used, being sure that the Tessels 
are absolutely clean. Place the eggs in the water-glass, see that 
those at the top are covered by at least two inches of the liquid, 
and cover the jars in order to prevent evaporation. Put the 
jars in a cool place where they will be undisturbed during the 
year. 

Only fresh, preferably infertile, eggs should be used. Eggs 
should not be washed, but should be wiped clean lest they be- 
.come tainted in flavor. 

Fruits. — ^When caring for fruits the stems should not be 
pulled or rubbed off. If for economical reasons fruit be bought 
in quantity, it should be treated as potatoes are — ^sorted into 



Care and Preservation of Food in the Home 9 

large and small, and gone over regularly to remove the specked 
ones. 

Care of Milk. — Milk is a perfect food for the young, but it is 
also an excellent food for bacterial groAvth and reproduction. 
For these I'easons no milk should be used that is not drawn 
from a healthy cow, handled by clean, healthy people, and bot- 
tled in sterilized bottles. It is best to pasteurize milk if you 
fear contamination, or are uncertain of the purity of your sup- 
ply. Milk delivered in sterilized bottles should remain in them 
until used. The mouth of the milk bottle must always be 
washed when received, or the milk when poured out over it, 
will contain the bacteria from the hands of the deliverer, or, 
possibly, from the cat that licked the bottle — if it was left 
on the doorstep for some time. 

Preservation of Foods hy Low Temperature. — Nothing has had 
a more equalizing influence on prices of foods, particularly of 
fruits, vegetables, and eggs, than the cold storage plants on the 
farm, the large cold storage warehouses, and the refrigerated 
cars for transportation. The big dealer holds the eggs that come 
in while they are abundant and cheap. The farmer has found 
that if it pays the dealer it will pay him. Instances could be 
given of farmers who have paid for their refrigerating system 
in a few weeks by the increased price of eggs alone. The man 
who has a refrigerating system large enough to be able to buy 
some things, such as meat, at wholesale, even for his own table, 
or to hold his egg supply for even sixty days is the man who is 
making things count. 

Certainly, every family in our state should have some method 
of cooling foods. The crudest methods are such as make use 
of water through some system of evaporation. A better method, 
of course, is the use of ice in refrigerators or ice boxes. 

The pitcher wrapped in a wet cloth and set in a pan of water 
is kept cool by the evaporation of the water from the, cloth. 
This may be worked out on a large enough scale to act as a 
family cooling box. To have a constant stream of cold water 
surrounding the cooling box is, of course, better. 

For the following description and cut of a home-made re- 
frigerator, we are indebted to the United States Department 
of Agriculture: 



10 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

"A good refrigerator may be made by the handy man of the 
family at slight expense. Two boxes mnst be made, one of 
which should be 12 inches longer, wider, and deeper than the 
other. If the inner box is three feet long, 2 feet wdde, and 2 
feet deep, the outer box should be 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 
3 feet deep. 

' ' The inner box should be : 

a. Made of matched white pine or cypress. 

b. Lined with zinc, 

e. Provided with a drip pipe in the bottom near one end 
and a metal grating across the box one foot from the 
drip-pipe end, to make a cage for holding the ice. 
d. Enclosed by two thicknesses of waterproof building 
paper tacked around the outside. 
' ' The outer box should be : 

a. Made of matched lumber. 

b. Lined with two thicknesses of waterproof building 

papei*. 
d. ]\lade to connect with the drip-pipe provided in the 
inner box. 

"To make the ice box, place the smaller box on the layer of 
insulation so that the drain pipe will pass from the inner to 
the outer box. Pack the insulating material (cork dust or 
shavings) tightly in the space between the inner and outer 
boxes. Fit a board over the packing betw^een the boxes so as 
to make a tight joint; if possible, zinc should cover the joint. 
Hinge a thick, well-insulated cover to the outer box and make 
joints tight with weather strips and felt. 

"For the cover procure a piece of matched board to cover 
completely the outer box, and a second piece of matched board 
to cover completely the inner l)ox plus the layer of packing, 
allowance being made for sticking of the cover. Put the two 
boards together, with a layer of insulating material between 
them. " 

Preservation of Food hy Drying. — In the drjnng method of 
preserving food we rely upon the withdrawal of moisture af- 
fecting the bacteria so that they can no longer develop. The 
flavor of dried foods does not equal that of foods preserved by 



C<J're and Preservation of Food in the Home 11 

heat, but this method of preserving often has an economic 
advantage which is not to be overlooked. 

Preservation of Food hij Means of High Temperature. — 
Warmth stimulates the life processes which cause fruit to ripen, 
seeds to grow, and meat to soften, which conditions lead to de- 
cay. Warmth also stimulates the growth and reproduction of the 
tiny microscopic organisms which feed upon our food, our 
clothes, or ourselves, as the case may be. When the heat is 
sufficiently increased, these life processes going on in the food 
are checked, and the organisms living upon them are destroyed 
unless they happen to be in the spore, or seed, form. In this 
spore form they are able to resist freezing and boiling, and can 
only be destroyed by very high heat or continued boiling for 
several hours. When warmth, moisture, and food are given 
them, they develop in a few days all the activity of which they 
are capable. It is upon our application of this knowledge of 
bacterial life and changes occurring naturally in foods that we 
must base our success or failure in canning, which is the best 
example of preservation of foods by means of heat. 

In the old way of canning, the fruit or vegetables were heated 

' only to the boiling point. Although the active forms of bac- 
terial life were thus destroyed, the spores remained and were 

' even urged to activity by the heat that had been applied. In a 
few days they became active and began to reproduce, and, as a 
result, the food began to work, mold, or decay, according to 
the kind of organism present. Hence, we learned that foods 
must either be canned under pressure so that a temperature 
much above boiling is reached, or they must be heated to the 
boiling point on several days to destroy the spores. 

Vtensils Needed in Canning: 

a. Canners. 

b. Tested jars with good rubbers, 
e. A wooden spoon. 

(1. Agate can filler. 

e. Scales. 

f. Good knives. 

A good jar is one that is capable of keeping out air, and one 



12 



Bulletin of the University of Texas . 



that is so constructed that the metal never conies in contact 
with the contents. It should be in one piece, with sides and 
mouthpiece as nearly straight as possible. Such a jar is easily 




Fig. 1. — Water-bath Canner (improvised). A, rack. B, contalnini 

vessel. 




Fig. 2. — Water Seal Canner. A, rack for holding can. B, cover. 

C, container. 



Care and Preservation of Food in the Home 



13 



cleaned and will take in whole fruits or large pieces of fruit 
or vegetables. 

Fresh rubbers should be used each time. To use old or im- 
perfect rubbers is poor economy. 

There are three general types of canners on the market today ; 
the water bath, the water seal, and the steam pressure canner. 




Fig 3. — Canner filled. 



(For the above cuts of canners we are Indebted to tlie University 
of Missouri.) 



14 



Bulletin of the University of Texas 



The water-bath canner consists of a covered vessel contain- 
ing a rack on which the cans may be placed to keep them from 
touching the bottom. The temperature cannot go above the 
boiling point. The water bath canner may be purchased, or a 
good one may be made by placing a wooden rack in the bottom 
of the covered water boiler. 




Pit 



-Steam Pressure Canner. 



Water-seal canners consist of a container with double walls, 
a rack foi' holding cans, and a cover which fits between the 
walls of the container. A temperature higher than boiling is 
possible with this canner because of the double walls and the 
close fitting top and so the cooking time is shortened. 



Care and Preservation of Food in the Home 15 

The pressure canner consists of a rack in which the cans set, 
a very heavy, strong container, the top of which is fastened 
down so securely with clamps that a high pressure is made 
possible, thus bringing the temperature much higher than the 
boiling point. The regulation of the pressure is automatic, and 
varies with the kind of food canned. 

Preservation by 3Ieans of Preservatives. — Sugar, salt, vinegar, 
spice, and the so-called preserving powders may all be classed 
as preservatives. Preservatives are substances used to prevent 
or retard the growth of micro-organisms. These substances 
may be divided into the harmful, doubtful, and harmless. 

Those knoAvn to be harmful are boric acid, the bqrates, ben- 
zoic acid, the benzoates, salicylic acid, the salicylates, sulfurous 
acid, the sulfites, and formaldehyde. Those about which there 
is doubt are the liquid smoke, and saltpeter. Those known to 
be harmless in moderate quantities are spices, sugar, salt, and 
vinegar. 

Municipal Cleanliness. — Municipal cleanliness should be as 
scrupulously sought for as cleanliness in the individual *home. 
To talk of the polluted water in the bucket, and at the same 
time fail to clean out the fountain, seems senseless. It is 
equally senseless to talk of the cleanliness of the housewife as 
to person, surroundings, and handling of foods in the home, 
and then allow the baker, with dirty hands and clothes, to 
handle unwrapped bread, drop it on the floor, perhaps upon 
the dried sputum of some tubercular person, and then send it 
to her home to be used by her family. Why advise the house- 
wife to screen the house from the disease carrying fly, and say 
nothing about the number of times the fly has crawled over 
the bread and other foods in the grocery store? 

Why should the housewife take such care in handling meat 
in the home and fail to be interested in regulating the handling 
and inspection of meats at the slaughter house and market, 
which are the greatest source of contamination? 

Why give advice to the housewife about the cleanliness of 
her kitchen, and then allow it to be possible for her to contract 
anv sort of vile disease because she ate at a restaurant or 



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Bulletin of the University of 




014 355 635 9 ^ 



Hotel whose kitchen is not properly inspected and required to 
be kept sanitary? 

Proper ventilation and screening, the provision of suitable 
conveniences for employes, and all the other things that make 
for a pure food supply must be a matter of concern to every 
woman. For the whole duty of a woman today does not end 
in her home, but must include the promulgation and strength- 
ening of all movements to better the conditions of municipal 
housekeeping. 



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